Grrr...
Just then, Might Duy's stomach let out a clear, hollow rumble. He looked instantly embarrassed.
"Hahaha, indeed! Youth needs fuel too!"
Night didn't mind at all. He laughed heartily. "I think we really hit it off, Senpai. How about we grab some dinner together?"
"T-this... I couldn't possibly..."
"I have coupons for Yakiniku Q!"
Night waved a 10% off coupon he had received from the owner last time, thanks to his "generous patronage" with Nawaki.
Seeing that Duy was genuinely hungry, Night pressed the invitation.
Night knew very well that Might Duy was considered a failure as a ninja—an outlier in the system.
With zero talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, relying solely on taijutsu, no one wanted to team up with him.
And since ninjas who didn't produce results didn't get paid, Duy couldn't take high-ranking missions without a team. He was stuck doing menial D-rank chores, so money was always tight.
Combined with his high-intensity physical training that required massive caloric intake, Duy was perpetually broke and hungry. So, he half-heartedly allowed Night to drag him into the BBQ restaurant.
"Boss! Start us off with twenty plates of pork and twenty plates of beef!"
The rotund owner of Yakiniku Q beamed and took the order immediately.
Soon, the table was piled high with meat. As Night grilled, he chatted with Duy.
He learned that Duy usually trained in that secluded part of the forest because he was still shy. He hadn't yet reached the level of thick-skinned confidence where he could shout about youth in public without caring.
Plus, being a nobody with low self-esteem, he tried to stay out of sight. That was why Night had to search so hard to find him.
Duy was shocked that Night had found his secret spot and actually trained with him all afternoon. His training regimen was so brutal that even Jonin would struggle to keep up for long.
This shared suffering boosted Duy's opinion of Night immensely. They even made plans to train together again tomorrow.
At the table, Night—whose appetite had skyrocketed since returning from the Land of Whirlpools—ate like a machine. Duy, being a taijutsu specialist, was no slouch either.
After their grueling workout, the two of them annihilated the meat like starving wolves. It was a massacre.
At first, Duy was a bit reserved. But as the conversation deepened, his eyes began to shine.
Especially when Night got excited and started quoting Duy's future son, Might Guy, using lines from his past-life memories: "Effort will never betray you!" "Hard work can surpass genius!" "Burn, Youth!"
Duy looked like he had been struck by lightning. His aura changed completely. He looked at Night with the burning intensity of a man who had finally found his soulmate—someone worth dying for.
The meal ended on a high note. After paying the bill, Night said goodbye to a reluctant Duy.
Walking home, Night felt he might have overdone it. He was genuinely afraid that if he stayed any longer, Duy would drag him out for a "Midnight Youth Burn" session.
The Next Morning.
"378... 379... 380..."
Night was woken up by a strange noise. He opened his window and looked down.
Might Duy was doing squats right in front of his house, sweating buckets.
Passersby were giving him weird looks, but Duy didn't seem to care at all.
Seeing Night appear in the window, Duy stopped immediately and shouted excitedly:
"MY BEST FRIEND! I thought about your words all night! I finally understand your deep meaning! Youth must burn like this!"
"Huh?"
"Just like now! The gazes of others make a warm current surge in my chest! This is my POWER OF YOUTH!"
"..."
Night was speechless. Like father, like son. A few casual words had seemingly unlocked Duy's inner chakra gates.
And that 'warm current' you're feeling... are you sure that's not just blood rushing to your head from embarrassment?
Night couldn't sleep anymore. He quickly washed up and dragged the still-hyped Duy—who wanted to continue his public display of "Youth"—to the training grounds.
From sunrise to sunset, stopping only to eat a few rice balls Duy brought, they trained for the entire day.
By the end, every muscle in Night's body was screaming.
This time, Duy refused Night's dinner invitation. He said goodbye seriously, promised to continue tomorrow, and left alone.
Night went home, stuffed his starving stomach with whatever he could find, and noticed his hands were shaking even as he washed up.
This "Burning Youth" lifestyle continued for about half a month.
Until one noon, news arrived.
Night knew the opportunity he had been waiting for was finally here.
As the war on the front lines intensified, the number of active ninjas in the village dwindled.
Rumors started circulating that the Cloud Village (Kumogakure), which had been sitting out the war, was getting restless and making moves on the border.
The rumors grew louder, and villagers began to worry.
Even though Konoha won the First Ninja War, fighting three Great Ninja Villages at once was terrifying. If the Cloud joined the fray, the Mist would likely take the chance to take a bite out of Konoha too.
This tension lasted until a delegation of Cloud ninjas arrived in Konoha. The Hokage's office announced that the Cloud was here to sign a peace treaty and alliance to end the war.
The Cloud envoys were welcomed by many villagers as harbingers of peace.
People felt the dark clouds of war lifting.
Night, however, wasn't optimistic. He knew the Third Great Ninja War was coming in the future. To quote a certain "Top-Tier Nonsense Speaker":
"The war might end, but the end of war is unlikely."
After saying this to himself, Night felt a tingling on his scalp—maybe his Uzumaki body was awakening another ability, or maybe it was just his "past-life wisdom" acting up.
During this time, dark-skinned Cloud ninjas were seen wandering the streets, apparently enjoying the sights while the treaty was being finalized.
After finishing his daily training with Duy, Night went to the Ninja Academy gates again. He precisely intercepted Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki as they walked out.
"Night-nii." x2
Ever since Night returned from his mission, whenever he wanted ramen, he would magically appear at the school gate.
Minato knew the drill. Night needed dining companions, so Minato dutifully followed him toward Ichiraku Ramen.
As for Kushina, she had learned about the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools from Mito Uzumaki. She felt a strong sense of closeness to Night, who carried an aura similar to Mito's.
Having successfully captured the pair, Night led them to Ichiraku Ramen once again.